"I told you it was coming and it's here," Mitchell told the thousands of people who gathered to see it, referring to a speech he made just after he helped the L.A. Kings win game six of the championship series versus the New Jersey Devils.

"This is a real special day for me and my family," the 35-year-old defenceman said, fighting back tears as he talked about the hours he spent practising at the arena.

"Everyone would go play soccer and I'd come down here and skate every lunch hour," he said. "That bench [where I laced up my skates] is actually still there, and to think I'd be here with [the Cup] - it's awesome."

Close friend Craig Marzoff, 37, remembers Mitchell talking about winning the Stanley Cup during fishing trips when they were younger. Although Marzoff was two years older, he and Mitchell played on many of the same hockey teams because of Mitchell's skill level.

"He was always a step better than most of the hockey players in town, so you thought 'Oh, he's got a chance,' " he said.

The day of the Cup's arrival, excited fans began gathering at the Chilton arena, the site of Mitchell's early hockey adventures, in the wee hours of the morning.

The crowd numbered well over the entire town's population of 2,700. The all-ages group - which came from as far away as Australia - swarmed the bleachers and any available standing room in the 2,100-capacity building, with many forced to find a spot in the parking lot and nearby field.

The boisterous crowd could barely contain itself as Mitch-ell and Lord Stanley's Cup arrived via helicopter just after 11 a.m., descending through the fog of notoriously cloudy Port McNeill.

"I wanted to be able to see the Cup, and be able to congratulate Willie," said 68-year-old Port McNeill resident Jim Whyte, who was the first in line at 6: 15 a.m. "He epitomizes hard work and dedication. He's the type of person that we should look up to."

Jordan Laughlin, 9, travelled from Sointula to see Mitch-ell and the Cup. Decked out in the jersey of her favourite team - the L.A. Kings - she said she doesn't play hockey, but she loves watching it (and Mitchell).

Dale Chilton, one of the driving forces behind the construction of the arena in the early '70s, said nobody imagined back then that it would be the starting point for a future member of a Stanley Cup team.

"We really built it thinking of the children in the area who in the wintertime had to have only indoor sport because of the weather," he said.

"This is just a big added benefit. Never would have thought of that. Never, ever, ever in our wildest dreams," the 77-year-old said Saturday, grinning at the prospect of seeing the Cup. Sunday's gathering was largely a photo session. After short speeches by the mayor, Chilton and Mitchell, groups of 25 to 75 people posed for photos with Mitchell and the Cup.

"It's all about us trying to do as many group photos as possible in the time that we have allotted," said event organizer Catherine Runnals, who began helping Mitchell plan his 24 hours with the Cup five weeks ago.

"It's tough, right?" Mitch-ell told reporters. "It's one day [and] it's jam-packed. You're trying to share it with people, and then you're also trying to do a few private things that you want to do yourself."

Marzoff said his ex-teammate is idolized by many locals, especially the kids. "The other day he stopped by [my place and] the neighbour's kids came running out and got pictures with him," he said. " [He] takes the time to talk with them."

Another close friend of Mitch-ell's said the prospect of disappointing fans has been weighing heavily on the L.A. Kings player. "That's just the kind of guy he is," said Glenn Moore, who used to pass the puck around with Mitchell when they were growing up.

When Mitchell played on the New Jersey farm team, Moore flew out to visit and said he remembers Mitchell refusing to stop signing autographs after a one-hour allotted session.

"He sat there and signed every person's in his line," said Moore, recalling Mitchell asking, "How can I tell that kid at the back of the line that I'm going now?" But on Sunday, there was a Cup Keeper ensuring Mitch-ell stayed on schedule. At just after 1 p.m., the keeper ushered Mitchell back to the helicopter, which flew him to nearby Alert Bay for another Cup ceremony.

Mitchell told reporters that after that, weather permitting, he was heading to the top of Mount Waddington to celebrate his "top of the world achievement." Photos of him holding the Cup would be taken from a camera mounted on the helicopter, and he and family members would enjoy some champagne from the "nicest glass in the world." The private time that followed was to include his 86-year-old grandfather - Les Mitchell - who played amateur senior hockey.

Moore, Port McNeill's vice-president of minor hockey, said Mitchell has been a great hockey ambassador to the town, donating thousands of dollars worth of game-worn jerseys, hockey equipment and other resources that help local kids play. "Sometimes he does so much stuff that people don't even know that he did it."

But Sunday's event was his biggest donation - "probably the biggest thing since indoor plumbing," said Moore.

Said Marzoff: "Can you imagine? Carrying the Stanley Cup into your hometown arena?"

"I mean that's just the ultimate dream."

knursall@vancouversun.com Twitter.com/kimnursall

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